This is our little corner of the internet, and thus, it makes sense to have some rules outlined for how we will be doing things in these here parts.

Privacy

We work with a variety of interesting clients in many sectors (nonprofit, retail, manufacturing, consumer products, creative), but we don’t talk about who they are specifically or publicly without their permission. Broadly interpreted, managing change can be painful and sensitive business. When we have ‘lessons learned’ to share, we will share them, but the specific identity of the client is not relevant to the lesson at hand. Thusly, you can assume that revealing details have been changed to protect the client but not materially change the lesson at hand. If you are a potential client and you’d like to receive references from clients we’ve worked with who are “like you,” get in touch. We’re happy to oblige.

Endorsements

When we have a product or a service or a person that we adore, we’re going to talk about it. In 99% of those cases, we have absolutely no financial stake in the product. If it so happens that we are making money from that endorsement (if they’re a client or otherwise connected to us), or if we’ve “gotten something” out of the deal (like a book to review), that will clearly be identified. We don’t use affiliate links, mostly because we don’t think you need us to help you buy stuff. Any links that appear here are just to help you find your way to things.

Credit

We give credit where credit is due: when we have read an article that makes us think or has informed our perspective on an issue, we’ll link to it in a post. (Ascribing to the wise Ameena Falchetto’s “Link with Love” philosophy). We source images through either paid stock images or free creative commons use image sites like MorgueFile. While it’s not required, we use common courtesy and credit the original source of the images wherever we can, with a link where logical. (With images from popular culture, we don’t own the rights to those images but will direct you to the original source, and we do not profit from their use on this site in any way.) And hey, plagiarism sucks: we don’t use others’ words without quoting/referencing them directly, and we ask you not to steal stuff from us. If something we say inspires you, please feel free to quote us with a link. Thanks!

Fee for Service

We do this for a living: consult with and provide personalized event design, project management, strategy & facilitation services to groups. We work on either hourly or project fees, negotiated in advance, depending on the individual client. Our base local rate starts at $1500 a day. When we book hotel rooms or other hospitality/meeting services for groups, we work on a “non-commissionable rate,” period. We think companies that claim their services are “free to you” and take a kickback from a hotel are skeevy. Our clients pay us fees, and we work our sweet little patooties off for them without anyone else’s interests in mind. Nope, we’re not the cheapest “date” on the block. If you’re looking for bargain-basement services, we’re probably not for you. You get what you pay for, and we’re worth it. See also: Relationships that Work.

Blog Comments

We love dialogue! We want to hear what you think and we aren’t afraid of contrary opinions that present another point of view. There are two sides to every coin and we all learn better when we talk candidly and respectfully. Conversation helps everyone grow and understand more broadly the complexity of issues at hand. If you share a comment, we ask you to be respectful, constructive and openminded, and not use nasty language when making your point. We’d really love for you to use your real names, but it’s not a requirement. It’s our playground: we reserve the right to delete any posts that are highly inflammatory (racist, bigoted, threatening harm), clearly spammy (e.g., V*1.@GR∆ !) or using language that would make our Grandmothers blush.  But that’s pretty much it. (A warm tip of our hat to Jayme Soulati, and her blog post “10 Tips for Handling Negative Blog Comments” for proactively inspiring the writing of this ‘Rules’ section.)

Thanks for stopping by: we look forward to connecting with you and building our collective momentum!